The invention relates to a deflector device for partially overlapping frontal collision of motor vehicles, the front part of the chassis of which comprises beams, which deflector device is arranged in front of a front wheel and is formed by a deflector that is connected to a beam and projects in a substantially horizontal manner and backward at an angle to protect said front wheel in the case of a collision. A partially overlapping frontal collision is to be understood as meaning a frontal collision in which the colliding vehicles are moving toward each other with substantially parallel but laterally offset directional vectors. The collision zone is consequently only a lateral part of the front part of the chassis. The beam is generally a longitudinal beam, either of the vehicle frame or of the vehicle body or of an auxiliary frame, but it could also be a transverse beam.
The lateral part of the front part of the chassis of vehicles is usually less stiff than the middle part in front of the passenger cell and also absorbs less collision energy, so that more collision energy acts on the passenger cell. There is, in particular, the risk of the respective wheel penetrating into the passenger compartment. In addition, in cases of such collisions there is generally also a particularly dangerous phenomenon: even when there is only relatively little overlap, the front wheels on the collision side of the two vehicles become caught in one another; one wheel at least of one vehicle collides with the wheel suspension of the other and vice versa. As a result, not only do particularly strong longitudinal forces act on the colliding vehicles and on their wheels, pushing them into the passenger compartment, but the two vehicles become at least partially interlocked. As a result, they are prevented from sliding past one another. In addition, a twist about the vertical axis is also imparted jointly to the two hooked-together vehicles, throwing the vehicles involved in the collision from the roadway.
This phenomenon is indeed referred to in the literature as “hooking”. A countermeasure known from DE 195 32 858 A1 is to make the front bumper extremely rounded, in plan view, and stiff in the side region in such a way as to prevent the front wheels on the collision side from touching and to make the two vehicles slide past one another. It can be imagined that, given the collision speeds that occur today, the bumper can never be strong enough. What is more, the bumper also has to meet other safety requirements that are contrary to this: a collision area that is as wide as possible in the event of an entirely overlapping frontal collision and gradual yielding in the event of collision with a pedestrian.
WO 2005/110815 A1 discloses a deflector device which, thanks to its kinematics, reaches around and pivots in the front wheel located behind it and also pivots in the colliding front wheel of the other vehicle involved in the collision. This counteracts hooking. However, tests have shown that, because of the greater forces in cases of higher collision speeds and on account of design requirements of the respective vehicle, considerable improvements of the collision behavior are still possible.
It is the object of the invention to provide a deflector element which prevents collision.